Customer Reviews

Summer Girl

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a fan of Smash Mouth since their first release, I had all but given up on them. My interest began to wain with their 3rd self titled release where they had taken their surf rock sound and made a full album of it, as opposed to the great mix of rock on the previous 2 albums. Get The Picture, the bands 4th full length, passed me by after one listen as it was even more diluted than its predecessor. Upon hearing that they were releasing a christmas album I thought the band I had loved from the first 2 albums had gone forever.

HOW WRONG I WAS

On the off chance that I was wrong, I decide to give them one more chance after I heard they were trying to go back to their roots of an all out rock sound. While not as good as their debut, it is easily on par with Astro Lounge. Tracks like So Insane, Getaway Car and Hey LA are easily some of the best pop rock songs I've heard all year.

If you loved early Smash Mouth. I'd recommend checking this one out, you won't regret it!

alright.... throw out the music from Get the Picture, and lets time warp back to the 60's style surfer and beach music.

Now, although I was expecting another Fush Yu Mang, but Summer Girl is definatly one of the better Smash Mouth albums... far better than their previous effort. I had been waiting for this album for over two years, and it was worth the wait... as i call it "musical sex for the soul"..lol

my only beef with this album, is that 2 or 3 of songs don't sound like they belong on the album. Not because of lyrics, but sound. They stand out from the rest of the album. Those songs are Everyday Superhero, So Insane, and Story of my Life. Though these are good songs, they sound like they'd fit more their self titled album, or Get the Picture. The rest of the album flows really well. I found myself bobbing my head at the very first song :)

Any longtime Smash Mouth fans will definatly enjoy this album, i highly reccomend.

I think this is one of the better Smash Mouth CDs in a while. I love the 60s sound that inspires them and this release really shines and is fun. Music should be fun and Smash Mouth knows it and lives it.

Like fine wine, Smash Mouth is getting even better as they age! In my opinion, they're on top of their game now: their music has more polish, their talent as musicians has only improved, and their lyrics are as wickedly clever as ever! The fact that songs like "Everyday Superhero" and "So Insane" haven't topped the charts just proves how brain-dead the music industry is. It's got to be frustrating as heck for these guys to not have their talent recognized and rewarded the way that it should be.

This CD is great, they really get back to their earlier sound and I'm so glad!

A more honest title for Smash Mouth's first album in their return to unsigned status may be "Hey, Major Labels, if You're Going to Pigeonhole Us, Do It Right". Because a title like "Summer Girl" just gives the impression Greg Camp continued to ride the hollow sunny vibe that washed out their 2003 release "Get the Picture?" into obscurity and eventually oblivion with another set of cranked-out too-calm-to-be-rock-but-too-peppy-for-ambiance numbers. This is not the case, because Smash Mouth knows that there's more to being a "summer band" than making a soundtrack for sunbathing. There's barbecues, campfires, partying, and--this can not be overstated enough--macking on potential summer flings.

So that's the M.O. for Greg, Steve, Paul and newcomer Jason Sutter this time out (although former drummer Michael Urbano leaves his fingerprints on some of the beats and production work here). While any lesser band would backpedal and try to regain some rock-group-cred by pretending Astro Lounge and its successors never happened. Smash Mouth, however, are well aware they already betrayed the hipsters beyond apology, and instead simply pick up where their fans' expectations for that album left off: a varied--but positively rockin'--collection of songs that sound good anywhere... but reach their full potential behind a pair of cool-looking shades between May and August with a cool drink in one hand and the sunblock in the other. So rarely does a band recognize where they are and, concurrently, where they've been. Even rarer is a band that can fit it all into one coherent sound. This album's got the grit of Fush Yu Mang, the variety and songcraft of Astro Lounge, the poppy charm of their self-titled and the feel-good summer vibe of Picture--the main difference is now it's got substance courtesy of the previous three elements. Take the title track, with its lazy-beach-days organ riff, but when the hook comes in with all its self-assuredly charming naiveté, you realize you can stop holding your breath; Smash Mouth's found their footing once again. Quality Control--the surprising but essential middle finger to Clear Channel--feels like a walk through the dilapidated Astro Lounge with the quasi-creepy space-rock that ran wild on that album and remained an undercurrent. And then there's Right Side, Wrong Bed, the first acoustic tune since I Just Wanna See that doesn't feel obligatory (despite its being the only one here).

What's the most surprising is how well Smash Mouth--formerly a common example of the kind of band that gets funding as a result of the laziness and greed of record execs with their frequent soundtrack contributions and by-the-numbers covers--make the transition to a full-fledged indie band, selling this record off of their own "Beautiful Bomb" label. In fact, the only element of this process they don't have down yet is the timing; they couldn't possibly have meant to release this sunny record in September. But it's an easily forgivable offense, mainly just because it's a big relief to have Smash Mouth back doing what they do best: pop that's so much fun it seems other bands are afraid to make it.

id consider myself a metalhead but i like a lot unmetal stuff too and smash mouth is one of them. Smash mouth was probably the first band i ever liked. as a kid i listened to astro lougne all the time and just loved it. now im 18 and listen to a lot of metal and hard rock but still have 6 of smash mouths albums including east bay sessions which i got just last month. I consider myself a huge fan of them i even saw them at a local festival and it was my first ever concert and i loved it soo much.
I was not dissapointed in Get The Picture I loved it but it is my least fav album it was wayyy too soft but good. Now i look in the electronics section of a local store and i find summer a smash mouth cd i didnt even know they had a new album so i quickly bought it. i pop it in and right away it reminds me of astro lounge. The groove beach music is back its got some very catchy beats and riffs and lyrics you can sing to. Quality Control really sounds like it belongs on astro lounge. Everyday Superheo is definitely my fav song off the album. So insane has the best beat of all the songs.

Im glad to hear the guys of smash mouth still making great music and i hope they keep going for years to come.

I really enjoyed listening to "Summer Girl" CD from Smash Mouth. I am so glad that I was able to buy this CD.

The best tracks on this album are Hey L.A., So Insane, Story of my Life, and Getaway Car. As a fan of Smash Mouth since the East Bay Sessions, I expected something great, and got exactly what I anticipated! Although the entire album is featured in pink, this is a great collection of music for any pop, alternative, or indie fan. Anyone who likes Smas Mouth needs this album! I am listening to it right now, and it is great!

Iv'e grown up listening to smash mouths music.. acually, there album Astro Lounge was the first CD I ever bought so I have high expectations for this album when I heard it was coming out. I found it strange that this CD had only 10 songs while there older albums had mroe. But thats nothing to complain about, what you get from this CD is a good time. You will find something to like in this CD and something to hate. I personally enjoyed this CD even tho it wasnt that good compared to any of there previous albums.